Improved tile-machine



einem (seda JOSEPH o. MCKENZIE, OF ADRIAN, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 89,878, dated May 11, 1869.

IMIPRO'VED TILE-MACHINE.

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The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH G. MOKENZIE, of

i Adrian, in'the county of Lenawee, and State' of Michigan, have invented a new and useful- Improvement in Tile-Machines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and 4exact description of the same,

sulicient.` to enable those skilled in the art to which it' pertains, to manufacture and use it.

My' invention consistsv in constructing a covered trough Aorbox, which is to contain the cutting-knives, so as to prevent the clogging of the knives with clay; and also, in an adjustable core, made so by means of set-screws, arranged as hereinafter set forth; and also,

Vmachine, partly in section, and

Figure 2 a transverse section, on the line a: x, lig. 1.,

j showing the adjustable core.

A represents a box or covered trough, preferably of hexagonal or octagonal form, tapering, gradually, from the feeding to the discharging-end; but it may be made tocontain "a greater or' less number of angles, only so that it be not square or cylindrical. 1 nd this shape advantageous over all others, for the reason, that the knives do not clog, as ill-ordinary troughs or boxes, on

account of the angles, which, while they are too ob tuse to permit the clay to stick fast, still present recesses suiciently deep to permit of the clay falling from'the knives when they rst begin to'elog, thus enabling the next row of knives to cut it up as the shaft, containing the cutters, revolves.

A is the hopper, where the clay is introduced.

B is the shaft, running horizontally through the centre ofthe trough, supplied with knives, b, of a peculiar shape, arranged, and securely fastened upon the shaft B, so as to form, when completed, a double screwthread, divided, however, along the line of the shaft, intosevera-l sections.

These knives b are, in shape, very much likethe lower half turn of the bit of an auger, with the working-face concave, the outery edge sharpened, and the inner fastened to the shalt, as shown in the drawings.

The shape of these knives adapts them to the trough in which they move, and their being divided and arranged as described,` also'in conjunction with the peculiar shape of the trough, tend to-prevent the knives or trough clogging with the clay, as so often happens in the ordinary tile-machines in use.

At the discharging-end of the trough or box, the

shaft B is provided with a screw, t', similar to the shape of the knife b, only not divided, which forces the clay Into the mould E, surrounding core O.

This converging mould E is adjustable by means of the set-screws F, so that while the core O remains stationary, the thickness vof the tile to be made may be regulated, sov that one side may be thicker than the other, or allsides alike.

The core G is fastened toa cross-bar, d, that supports the end of the revolving shaft B, by means of a screw, D, which permits the core to be taken out and exchanged for one of different size and shape, when desired.

The box or trough ,A may be made in two pieces, if

v desired, and fastened together by means of the swingbolts H, or may be constructed in any desirable manner, of metal or wood.

I am well aware that cutting-knives and screwthreads fastened permanently to a revolving shaft, have before been used, as, also, have stationary cores.

I am also aware that knives, for like uses with those in my invention, and which, when taken separately,

are of similar' construction, have been used before irrthe rejected application of J J .,Alvord, of 1861; and I am also acquainted with the fact, that an appliance for moulding tiles, somewhat similar to mine, is shown in the patent of George S. Tiffany, of February 26, 186i.

The one shown by him, however, permits only the mould, or a part thereof, tobe removed, and another mould or thimble substituted, in order to make tiles of different thicknesses, while, in my invention, the mould E is itself adjustable, by means of the screws F.

I do not, therefore, claim, broadly, the 4combination of cutting-knives, and a screw-thread and shaft, working in an ordinary trough.

Neither do I claim the peculiar shape of the individual knives, as shown by A1vord,`or the removable thimble or mould, as shown in the patent of Tii'an'y, referred to above; but

What I dol claim as new, and of my own invention, and for which I desire to procure Letters Patent, is

l. The adjustable mould E, surrounding the core G, in combination with' the screws F F F, operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

' 2. In combination with the tapering angular trough A, the swing-bolts H, operating as and for the purposes vset forth.

3. The combination of the tapering angular trough A, the shaft B, when supplied with the knives b, and` screw b', and the screws F, and mould E, and core l0,

substantially as and operating in the manner set forth.

JOSEPH O. MOKENZIE. Witnesses:

MORTON EDDY, i 11M. COLE. 

